Fastening and securing means



Jan. 21', 1936. w. GAlL 2,028,597

FASTENING AND SECURING MEANS Filed March 2', 1934 2- Sheets-Sheet 1 George W Gail e. w. GAIL 2,028,597

FASTENING AND SECURING MEANS Filed March 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 4 Z fi- J z \M I I I I I I I I I Lu 9 Q 4 Lo 3 Fan, 21, 1936.

' George W Gail.

Patented Jan. 21, 1936 z UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE FASTENING AND SECURING MEANS George W. Gail, Ruxton, Md.

Application March 2, 1934, Serial No. 713,757

8 Claims. (01. 306-38) This invention relates to fastening and secur- Fig. 7 is a side elevation showing the appliing means and has particular reference to procation of my invention to a hatchet or ax emviding effective means for securing tool heads to ploying a curved handle.

their handles and securing the rungs of chairs, Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are cross-sections taken 5 stools or other articles of furniture to the legs along lines 8-8, 99 and ll0, respectively,

connected thereby. of Fig. 7.

Attempts have heretofore been made to pro- Fig. 11 is a cross-section of a handle illusvide efiective securing mechanism for these purtrating a modified form of my invention. poses, and in the case of tools, it has been pro- Fig. 12 illustrates diagrammatically a chair to posed to bore a longitudinal hole in the handle which my invention may be applied. 10 and to provide a metal tie-rod in this bore. This Fig. 13 is a detail, fragmental view showing requires drilling an aperture of unusual length the application of my invention to the legs and in the handle, an operation which has proved rungs of a chair such as shown in Fig. 12.

slow, expensive, difiicult, impractical, unsatisfac- Fig. 14 is a cross-section along line l4l4 of 15 tory and unreliable. If the bore or hole is too Fig. 13. large the handle is weakened too much. If the The hammer shown in Figs. 1 to 6 comprises bore is small enough so as not to Weaken the the head 2 provided with the opening 4 into handle appreciably, the drilling of a hole of such which the handle 6 projects. This handle 6, small cross-section is unsatisfactory and impracusually made of wood, is formed of two parts 8 tical owing to the tendency of the drill or bit and ID connected to each other longitudinally, 20

to break and bend and the inability to accuthe longitudinal faces on each part preferably rately control the boring due to the variations forming a union I2 which is in a plane passing in the grain of the wood, which grain is rarely through the axis of the handle, and when the exactly parallel to the center line of the desired. handle is of elliptical cross-section, as shown bore. Also, where varying degrees of hardness in Fig. 6, this union l2 preferably, passes 25 are met, further difficulty in drilling an accurate through the locus of the major axes of the hole results. cross-sections. The parts of the handle may Among the objects of this invention is the be formed by first turning a handle to the deprovision of a means for overcoming the objecsired size and then sawing the handle longitions heretofore noted and to accomplish these tudinally into two parts along the proper plane. 30 results in a cheap, efiicient and satisfactory If desired, these conjugate parts 8 and I!) may manner. be otherwise constructed and the conjugate parts Other, further and more specific objects of assembled to form the desired construction. this invention will become readily apparent to Each of these parts 8 and I0 are provided with persons skilled in the art from a consideration central grooves Hi and I6 so that when these 35 of the following description when taken in conparts 8 and ID are properly assembled the junction with the accompanying drawings, grooves will form a continuous, substantially wherein: axial bore through the handle. The cross-sec- Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the applications of the gro v s y be vari d to meet the tion of my invention to a hammer, a portion of particular needs and fancy, so as to form 40 the device being broken away for clearer illusape tures having cross-sections which are cirtration of the mechanism. cular, elliptical, polygonal or of other regular Fig. 2 is an elevation of the hammer shown or irregular configuration. When desired, the in Fig. 1, taken at right angles to the latter size and shap of t cross-section of the p view. ture may be varied in different parts of the 45 Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hammer shown aperture. in Fig. 1. After these parts 8 and I0 have been grooved, Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the handle they can then be either glued together to hold shown in Fig. 1. same in proper alignment and against separa- 55 Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail, fragmental view of th tion from each other or, if desired, other means 50 handle shown in Fig. 1, illustrating means for for preventing separation may be employed, preventing separation of the parts of the handle such as a tape l8 or the metal end cap 20. from each other. 7 The head-2 into which the handle projects also Fig. 6 is a cross-section along line 66 of aids in preventing separation of the parts of thehandle at that end. The handle 6 is recessed at 22 to accommodate the cap 20 and is also cut down at 24 in order that the outer surface of the annular flange 26 of the cap 20 will be continuous with the surface of the handle 6.

A rod 28, preferably of metal, passes through the bore It at the tool head end of the handle. This rod is attached to a cap or plate 30, and in Fig. l is shown threaded in the plate. The plate 30 rests upon the shoulder or abutment 32 in the tool head 2. A clearance is preferably provided between the handle 6 and the cap or plate 38. At the bottom of the handle, the other end of the rod 28 projects beyond the central bore and through the cap 29. A washer 34 is provided between the cap 28 and the nut 36. By tightening the nut 36 the handle 6 will be drawn tightly and securely held against the tool head in the opening 4, which is usually tapered, and the tool head will be prevented from flying 01f the handle because of any loosening of the parts. If desired, the plate Bil may be so threaded that the rod will tighten itself therein when the nut 36 is being tightened at the other end of the rod 28.

In applying my invention to a tool having a curved handle, such as shown in Fig. 7, certain modifications have been found desirable. It will be noted that when a tie-rod of circular or elliptical cross-section is employed with a curved handle and the handle is tightened against the tool head by tightening the nut at the open end. of the handle, there is a tendency for the tierod to effect separation of the parts of the handle, due to pressure at the curves of the grooves. In order to counteract this tendency, I flatten the tie-rod at the curved portion 38 and shape the grooves to properly accommodate the flattened rod as will be evident by reference to Fig. 9. It will be seen from Figs. 8 and 10 that .the rod 28 is circular near the ends of the handle while in the central portion it is flat as shown in Fig. 9.

The flattening of the intermediate portion enables the rod to bend more easily around the curves and also aifords a good bearing area at the curves, thereby avoiding crushing of the fibers of the wood, whichwould cause a loosening of the tie-rod. In order to assure proper tightening under all conditions and to allow for the drawing'together of the handle and the tool head, the bore is preferably increased in size at 40 and 42 so as to accommodate the parts of the tie-rod of either circular or flattened structure.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 10 the members of the handle are joined at the plane passing through the locus of the major axes of the cross-sections. This construction is preferred because in most cases the extra strength to the handle afforded by this arrangement is desirable. However, in some instances, my invention may also be employed to advantage by having the parts of the handle constructed not of halves but of complementary parts difiering in shape from each other. Such a construction is illustrated in Fig. 11 where the cross-section of the part 44 is a smaller sector of the ellipse than that of part 46. Also, my invention may be employed to advantage with handles wherein the tie-rod is positioned at a distance from the axis.

My invention is also applicable to the fastening and securing of rungs of a chair to the legs as shown in Fig. 13. In this case, therungs are formed of two parts 48 and 50 which are grooved to accommodate the tie-rod 52. The legs 54 are recessed at 55 to receive the washers 58 and nuts 60. The legs 54 are also recessed at 62 to receive the ends of the rungs comprising the sections 48 and 50. These rungs are positioned so that the plane between the parts 48 and 50 is vertical, because such arrangement adds to the strength and appearance. In this construction the rung serves as a strut and the tie-rod 52 as a tension member. After the rung and tie-rod have been positioned and tightened against the legs, the cavities or recesses containing the washers 58 and nuts 60 may be filled with putty or other filler so that the legs of the chair will present a smooth and neat finish.

The parts l8 and 59 of the rung may be glued together if desired, although generally the tight fit of the ends of the rungs in the recess 62 of the legs 54 is sufficient to keep the parts from 2 separating. By this construction a reliable means is provided for maintaining the legs of a chair or other article of furniture against separating and loosening from the rungs.

My invention is not only applicable to numerous other tools and articles of furniture than specifically illustrated herein, but may also be appropriated to advantage for many other uses; for example, golf clubs and other articles having parts that have a tendency to loosen and become disengaged from each other.

In the claims, the term nut is employed to cover various forms of mechanical nuts including those having the hole extending partially through, those having the hole extending en- 5 tirely through, those having the hole partially threaded and those having the hole entirely threaded.

The present invention is not limited to the specific details set forth in the foregoing examples which should be construed as illustrative and not by way of limitation, and in view of the numerous modifications which may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, it is desired that 5 only such limitations be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a member having an opening therethrough, another member fitting into 59 said opening, said latter member comprising two parts jointed to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal, substantially com tral passageway through said second member, and means for securing said members to each other, said means comprising a tie-member threaded at each end and passing through the longitudinal passageway of the second named member and projecting into the opening of the first named member, a nut on each end of said tie-member and means for securing said nuts in fixed relation to each other.

2. In combination, a tool head having an 5 opening therethrough, a handle having an, end extending into said opening, said handle com.- prising two parts joined to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal, substantially axial passageway through said handle, means for preventing separation of said parts from each other, a tie-rod threaded at each, end, disposed within said longitudinal passageway, and i" 2,028,597 holding the tool head and handle together, said tie-rod. projecting into the opening of the tool head, a nut on each end of said tie-rod and means for securing said nuts in fixed relation to each other.

3. In combination, a tool head having an opening therethrough, 'a handle having an end extending into said opening, said handle comprising two conjugate parts joined to each other lengthwise by their longitudinal faces, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal, substantially central passageway through said handle, means for preventing separation of said conjugate parts from each other, a tie-rod threaded at each end, disposed within said longitudinal passageway and holding the toolhead and handle together, said tie-rod projecting into the opening of the tool head, a nut on each end of said tie-rod and means for securing said nuts in fixed relation to each other.

4. In an article of furniture, in combination, a leg, a rung having an end pro-jecting into said leg, said rung comprising two parts joined to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal passageway through said rung, means at the other end of said rung for holding said parts of said rung together and a tie-rod within said longitudinal passageway and hold ing said rung and leg together.

5. In an article of furniture, in combination, a leg, a rung having an end projecting into said leg, said rung comprising two conjugate parts joined to each other lengthwise by their longitudinal faces, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal, substantially central passageway through said rung, means at the other end of said rung for holding said parts of said rung together and a tie-rod within said longitudinal passageway and having its ends projecting beyond said passageway and holding said leg and rung together.

6. In an article of furniture, in combination, a pair of legs, a rung disposed between said legs and having its ends projecting into said legs, said rung comprising two parts joined to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal, substantially central passageway through said rung and a tie-rod within said longitudinal passageway and holding said rung and legs together, said rung serving as a strut and said tie-rod as a tension member.

'7. In combination, a member having an opening therethrough, another member inserted in said opening, said latter member comprising two parts joined to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal passageway through said second member, a tie-member threaded at each end, disposed within said longitudinal passageway and holding said members together, said tie-member projecting into the opening of the first named member, a nut on each end of said tie-member and means for securing said nuts in fixed relation to each other.

8. In combination, a tool head having an opening therethrough, a handle inserted in said opening, said handle comprising two parts joined to each other lengthwise, each of said parts having a longitudinal groove, said grooves being disposed adjacent to each other and forming a longitudinal passageway through said handle, a tie-rod threaded at each end, disposed Within said longitudinal passageway and holding the tool head and handle together, said tie rod projecting into the opening of the tool head, a nut on each end of said tie-rodand means for securing said nuts in fixed relation to each other.

GEORGE W. GAIL. 

